Lightweight Chassis Cradles Dr. Lothar Hein & Ken Weise Benteler Automotive
Why Benteler Light Weight Steels? Benteler light weight steels can provide significant mass reductions, approaching that of aluminum, at significantly lower cost. Benteler s steel making expertise allows for formulations tailored to the needs of the automotive industry. Benteler uses different types of materials and processes depending upon the vehicle and component needs. Heat treatment during the component manufacturing process allows the engineer to optimize yield, tensile and elongation, thus saving weight.
Benefits of BTR165 and BAS100 BTR BTR 165 165 (for (for hot hot forming) forming) Ultra Ultra high high strength strength with with good good ductility ductility High High crash crash resistance resistance and and fatigue fatigue strength strength Good Good weldability weldability with with conventional conventional techniques techniques Exact Exact part part shape; shape; no no springback-effect springback-effect Forming Forming of of complex complex parts parts possible possible High High Potential Potential combinations combinations of of material material and and process process BAS BAS 100 100 (for (forpost forming formingheat heattreatment) treatment) Ultra Ultra high high strength strength with with excellent excellent ductility ductility High High crash crash resistance resistance and and fatigue fatigue strength strength Good Good weldability weldability (high (high strength strength over over weldseam) weldseam) Different Different material material conditions conditions adjustable adjustable High High tempering tempering resistance resistance up up to to 600 C 600 C Batch Batch galvanizing galvanizing without without loosing loosing strength strength
Chassis Materials Tensile Strength, MPa. 1800 1700 1600 1500 1400 1300 1200 1100 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Complex-Phase- Steel (CP) BTR165 Water Quenched BAS100 Tool Quenched ferritic-bainitic St. BAS100 Air-quenched/ Air Hardened (teil-) martensitisch Dual-Phase- St. (DP) BAS100 Soft BTR165 Delivery Behavior 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 HSLA Elongation, % TRIP-Steele High strength Steel (P, BH, IFHS) high higher ultra high strengts (Ultra-)Deep Drawing Quality (DDQ, UDDQ) Dr. A. Frehn
Bending Fatigue Properties 700 650 Bending fatigue test R=-1 Speed: 25Hz 600 550 Stress amplitude, MPa 500 450 400 350 BTR165 BAS100 TRIP800 (Hot rolled material) BAS100 (Air QT) BTR165 (Water QT) 440-Grade (Nippon steel*) 590-Grade (Nippon steel*) 780-Grade (Nippon steel*) 780-Grade (Kobe steel**) 300 * Nippon Steel Technical Report No. 88, July 2003, p. 12 ** JSAE Review 24 (2003), p. 85 250 200 150 Typical HSLA 10000 100000 1000000 10000000 100000000 Number of stress cyles N Dr. A. Frehn
General Information - BTR 165 BTR 165: A steel grade developed by Benteler successfully used for structural and chassis components Manganese-Boron-alloyed QT-steel Optimised for the hot forming process Good formability in the soft annealed condition and ultra high strength in hot formed components A steel with good weldability (with conventional welding techniques) Free of spring back effects in hot formed components Has sufficient ductility for chassis components Available as cold and hot rolled strip, ERW- and seamless tubes Available worldwide including also Asia-Pacific Typical microstructure after hot forming: 100% martensite
Material Properties BTR165 BTR165 Condition of delivery Water quenched, annealed at ~ 250 C Water quenched, annealed at ~ 630 C R e, MPa R m, MPa A 5, % min. 900 1000-1300 min. 10 Normalised min. 320 520-640 min. 20 Soft annealed min. 250 min. 400 min. 20 BKS min. 1100 1400-1850 min. 8 min. 500 min. 650 min. 15
Bending Performance of BTR165
BTR165 TYE Properties Coupon TYE Testing 04-008 250 200 Stress [ksi] 150 100 OH Quench D01 OH Quench D02 SH Quench D01 SH Quench D02 50 1ksi=6.9MPa 150ksi=1035MPa 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Strain [%]
General information - BAS100 BAS100: A steel grade developed by Benteler An air-hardening steel mainly alloyed with Mn-Cr-Mo-V Combines good formability in the soft annealed condition and high strength in the post forming heat treatment condition A steel with excellent weldability due to the low Typical microstructure after air-qt: Carbon content Ferrite, Bainite, precipitations Showing no hardness decrease over weldseams due to self-qt-effects Has good ductility and crash resistance for chassis components Stable regarding heat treatments up to 600 C (e.g.: tempering, batch galvanising, etc.) Available as cold and hot rolled strip, ERW- and seamless tubes Currently used for the front subframe of the Mercedes C-class
Material Properties BAS100 BAS100 Condition of delivery Air quenched Air quenched, annealed at ~ 600 C R e, MPa R m, MPa A 5, % min. 700 950-1100 min. 14 min. 700 850-1000 min. 15 Soft annealed max. 650 max. 750 min. 18
TYE Properties of BAS100 S355MC (3,50mm) BAS100, QT (2,50mm) BAS100, soft annealed (2,00mm) S420MC (2,00mm) 1000 900 800 BAS100, QT: 720 MPa (R p0,2 ), 935 MPa (R m ), 6% (A g ), 9% (A 80 ) BAS100, soft annealed: 463 MPa (R p0,2 ), 575 MPa (R m ), 15% (A g ), 24% (A 80 ) S420MC: 467 MPa (R p0,2 ), 527 MPa (R m ), 16% (A g ), 26% (A 80 ) S355MC: 385 MPa (R p0,2 ), 441 MPa (R m ), 18% (A g ), 30% (A 80 ) 700 Technical stress, MPa 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Technical strain, % Dr. A. Frehn
Temperature Effects on BAS100 Re (Yield) Re & und Rm Rm, (Ultimate), MPa MPa 1100 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 Dr. A Frehn / 07.06.06 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 Tempering Temperature, Anlaßtemperatur, C C Re Rm A5 22 19 16 13 10 A5 Bruchdehnung (Total Elongation), A5, % Dr. A. Frehn
Heat Affected Zones BAS100 Homogenous range of hardness 450 High fatigue performance HV392 ~ 40 Rc 400 BASE MATERIAL HAZ WELDED MATERIAL HAZ BASE MATERIAL 350 HV310 ~ 30 Rc 300 Hardness HV0,2 250 200 Typical HSLA 150 100 50 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 Measuring point Dr. A. Frehn
Heating Options Possibilities of of heating Inductive Inductive Heating Heating Gas Gas Oven Oven Electric Electric Resistance Resistance Heating Heating Salt Salt Bath Bath Heating Heating Radiating Radiating Heating Heating Contact Contact Heating Heating
Inductive Heating What is it? A process where specialized Benteler steels are inductively heated and water quenched to locally increase the yield strength of the steel. What materials are used? Post form heat treatment is accomplished with one of two specialized Benteler steels; BTR165 and BAS100. Both can obtain high yield strengths while maintaining good elongation. Both have excellent welding capability. BAS100 is air quenched, minimizing heat affected zones in welding areas. Useful for any area needing light weight and high strength. Heat treated area
Oven Heating Gas fired furnace heats the part to working temperature. Suitable for single components or fully welded assemblies. Can be configured for heating, tempering, annealing, or any combination thereof. Full Assembly Heating and Tempering Oven Component Oven
Hot Stamping... of blanks Coil Platine Presse Coil Blank Furnace Robot Presse Cooling...with pre formed parts Press (Pre-forming / Cutting) Coil Blank Furnace Robot Presse Cooling
Benteler Hot Stamping Locations Benteler Automotive MEXICO Puebla USA Goshen FRANCE Migennes SPAIN Burgos GERMANY Paderborn Czech. Chrastava China Japan Paderborn Migennes Burgos 10 Hot stamp lines 1 under construction 1 prototype line 3 Hot stamp lines 2 Hot stamp lines Vigo 1 Hot stamp line BRASIL Campinas Chrastava Rumburk 3 Hot stamp lines 1 Hot stamp line Total: 30 Lines in production 1 Lines under construction 2 Lines planned (w/production orders) First hot stamp line launched in 1991 Benteler Automotive Goshen Puebla Campinas 6 Hot stamp lines 2 Hot stamp lines 1 Hot stamp lines 1 Hot stamp line planning Changchun 1 Hot stamp line Shanghai 1 Hot stamp line planning Aisin Takaoka Japan 3 Hot stamp lines
Current Hot Forming Applications Roof Reinforcement Window Shaft Reinforcement Rear Bumper Door Beam B-Pillar Reinforcement Front Bumper Crossmember Reinforcement A-Pillar Reinforcement Side Beam Reinforcement
Hot Stamping Portfolio 45,000,000 Hot Formed Parts in 2006
Case Study Aluminum Replacement Mercedes W204 (C-Class) Engine Cradle Prior (W203) Design: Die cast aluminum cradle. Added parts to manage crash. W204 Design Objectives: Crash Energy Absorption Reduced Mass Reduced Cost Mercedes W203 Front Cradle Aluminum Die Casting 14kg
Case Study Aluminum Replacement Design Constraints Corrosion Hot Dip Galvanizing after Welding Crash Sidemember Geometry Mass Thin Gage BAS100 1.3mm min
Case Study Aluminum Replacement Manufacturing Constraints and Solutions To ensure proper fit between the thin walled tubes and mating components, trim edges are plasma cut under a water fog.
Case Study Aluminum Replacement Manufacturing Constraints and Solutions Fully welded frames are hardened and tempered in a gas fired oven. Only materials compatible with this process are included in the design.
Case Study Aluminum Replacement Manufacturing Constraints and Solutions Dimensional integrity is maintained by post heat treatment machining and punching.
Case Study Aluminum Replacement Results 1.65mm 1.5mm 1.3mm Mercedes W203 Front Cradle Aluminum Die Casting 14kg Mercedes W204 Front Cradle Benteler BAS100 12kg Weight Reduced 14% (2kg) Cost Reduced 45% Crash Energy Managed
Conclusion Benteler materials and processes make it possible to reduce weight without the high cost of aluminum.
Questions?
Contacts Dr. Lothar Hein Technical Product Group Leader Chassis Systems lothar.hein@benteler.com (248) 364-7282 Ken Weise Technical Director Chassis Systems ken.weise@benteler.com (248) 364-7231 Dr. Andreas Frehn Materials Specialist Chassis systems Andreas.Frehn@benteler.de 011-49-5254-81-5015 Additional company information available at: http://www.benteler.com